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Issue #85

January/February, 2004

This issue is Sold Out.
Most articles are included in our print anthology
A Backwoods Home Anthology — The Fifteenth Year
Click on General Store to the left.

Click on items listed in red to read them.

DEPARTMENTS

8 Publisher's Note

9 Editorial:
Shades of truth and sleaziness

21 Book Review: The Self-Reliant Homestead

26 Ask Jackie:
Canning chili, dehydrated fruit, cabbage recipes, fencing livestock, dehydrating onions, goat cheese, preserving tomatoes, and many more

67 The gee-whiz! page

68 Irreverent joke page

71 BHM Survey

74 Ayoob on Firearms:
How to shoot a handgun accurately

88 Letters

90 Classified ads (pdf)

90 Classified advertising form

93 Advertiser Index

95 BHM anthologies, CD-ROMs, & books

96-97 Order form/Subscription Info

98 The last word:
The world is ending!...again?

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ABOUT THE COVER

Jeff Yago's initial goal didn't include building a solar home. He wanted it to be so energy efficient that it could easily operate on only solar electricity and propane heat. After the recent wrath of Hurricane Isabel, many of Yago's Virginia neighbors waited up to two weeks for power and water to be restored. His home's automatic power system met all their energy needs until the local power grid was restored.

FEATURES

Self-reliance

24 Shopping to beat inflation By Darlene Campbell

Independent energy

61 Solar & propane powered super home By Jeffrey R. Yago P.E, CEM

Gardening

18 Benefits of mulching By Tom Kovach

36 Grow your own dishrags By Alice Yeager

50 Exotic plants for the homestead By Corcceigh Green

70 The $12 self-aerating compost bin By Rick Brannan

86 Water and winter tree injury By Tom Kovach

Animals

19 Raising cattle on your own place By Charles Sanders

45 Selecting a breed of chicken By Sylvia Gist

Country living

22 Birch tree syrup By Cynthia Andal

53 Wild neighbors, Part 2 By Jackie Clay

72 The "chocolate tree" isn't just for kids By Rev. J.D. Hooker

Homeschooling

79 A homeschooling lesson in physics By John Silveira
Why do rockets work? Newton's Three Laws of Motion

82 Homeschooling Jacob — The basics of writing By Dave and Jacob Duffy

Small Town America

40 Thermopolis, WY — Horses and hot springs By Emily Salinger

Please address comments regarding this article to editor[at]backwoodshome.com. Comments may appear online in "Feedback" or in the "Letters" section of Backwoods Home Magazine. Although every email is read, busy schedules generally do not permit personal responses.